Like The Autumn Leaves, I Have Changed
by Summers-Wind
Summary: It's McKinley's first home game, on a brisk, fall night, and Quinn watches the football team and the Cheerios from the sidelines, then takes the field to sing with New Directions, and contemplates her new position on the field. Drabble.


_**Author's Note:** I'm not really sure about the Quinn that I wrote, so sorry if she's a little OOC... Anyways, It's already fall here, so I contribute some of the fic to that... I hope that you like it. Please review, if you have time!_

_**Disclaimer:** I don't own Glee or anything else. This is for purely entertainment purposes._

_**Like The Autumn Leaves, I Have Changed**_

The blonde girl shuddered and tugged down on the sleeves of her long sleeved shirt beneath her sweatshirt. She looked down at her hands stuffed into her burgundy McKinley High hoodie and her skinny jeans stuffed into chocolate colored UGG's as she melded into the crowd around her. She blended in well with the sea of football fans dressed for fall- long pants, long shirts, sweatshirts, a few jackets, scarves, knit caps, legs covered with fleece blankets and hands holding hot cocoa bought from the concession stand.

She didn't belong on the field anymore, although when she saw the green blur of the field, she felt a twinge of melancholy emotion shoot through her body. Though, she wasn't sure if it was just a strong shot of brisk air onto her cheeks. Deciding that anyone who would mock her would be on the field, she pulled her black rimmed glasses from her pocket and pushed them awkwardly onto her face.

The girl glanced at the field and recognized the blobs as more defined shapes. She immediately recognized the builds of Puck and Finn, who were in a circle with the rest of the team, stretching.

The football team had gotten surprisingly better over the past year, partially due to some intense summer training. They wouldn't be winning a championship any time soon, but they stood a chance. Not a good one, but they did have one, and that had to count for something.

Past the endzone, she saw a massive pile of golden, red, and yellow- brown leaves. She couldn't help but feel like them- changing. It was a rather poetic thought, especially for Quinn Fabray, but it was hers.

Below, the blonde saw Finn and Puck, who were co-captains, in the center of the field with two referees and two guys from the opposing team, preparing for the coin toss.

To the side of the field, the Cheerios were calling out a routine in their signature uniforms which were on over white turtlenecks and leggings. Even the Cheerios weren't that stupid- Coach Sylvester would not be please if even one of them got sick.

She knew about the Cheerios and their Cheer Camp prep over the summer for the coming year's Nationals. She knew that Sanata was now captain. She knew that Lindsey has sprained her ankle and was sitting in her Cheerios tracksuit with crutches leaning against the metal bench. She knew that today was the day tradition would be repeared. It was tradition for the Fresh- Cheerios to have sex with football players after the game as a kind of inaguration. She knew that some football player was going to be having sex with Brittany during half time. She knew verything about the Cheerios- both public and not so public (like the freshman/ football player sex thing). Finn and her both got out of it by heavily making out in his car and steaming up the windows- they told everyone they did- and everyone believed them.

She wondered what this year's secrets were. She had a good idea, as she knew everyone but the Fresh- Cheerios almost as well as they knew themselves. But she sometimes empty, because no one told her rumors for her to spread gossip anymore. Not that the spreading of gossip was good, but she felt loved when someone told her something first and she felt in control when she was the one spreading the gossip. She knew that these were consequences of a choice that she made- she wasn't proud of them- but she lived with them, as she had no choice.

She walked by the spirit club kids decked out in bright reds and whites, by some students, some parents, and even a few toddlers in little Cheerios uniforms. She remembers being of of those kids and even dares to wonder if Beth would have been one of those kids, had she and Puck decided to keep her.

Thinking of children, she though of her own mother at home. Judy Fabray took the divorce hard and moved to a flat in a nearby city. Her mom took the train into work and allowed Quinn use of the car during the day. On this particular night, her mom's co-workers dragged her mom out for a girl's night.

She took a seat on the bleacher closest to the railing, which overlooked the opposing team's endzone and allowed herself a moment of peace. Now that she was off the Cheerios and didn't have the weight's of the expectations to be perfect, they came more often.

"There you are!" Mr. Shue called out, as he spotted the ex- cheerleader. "I wouldn't have recognized you, if it wasn't for your facial expression."

The girl shrugged.

"Come on! It's almost half time! We have to be prepared to sing! And we're on before the Cheerios!"

Quinn followed Mr. Shue below the bandstand, where the rest of the Glee club was prepared to go on. They chose not to wear costumes on this night, but they did agree on wearing their red McKinley high hoodies, which they were required to buy for PE freshman year.

"Quinn?" The voice was Tina's.

"Yes?" Quinn raised her eyebrows and scowled, an annoyed tone in her voice.

"Oh. I hardly recognized you." Tine said.

"Me either." Artie agreed.

"You okay?" Mercedes came up from behind Quinn. Quinn was the master of approaching people from behind and suddenly spooking them, so she didn't jump. But she might have.

"Yes." Her voice sounded definitive. She had convinced herself that she was, because doing so had been her defense and survival method for so many years.

"There's no reason she shouldn't. Being in Glee instead of one of those neanderthal cheerleaders or jocks is much nobler." Kurt commented.

"I don't think that's reassuring." Rachel joined the conversation.

"I don't remember you being apart of this conversation." Kurt commented, a rare, slight bitter tone in his voice. Kurt was still slightly annoyed that Rachel had gotten the solo. Rachel could sing the song better- it had nothing to do with anything else.

"Listen up, guys!" Mr. Schue called. "We're singing_ Dirty Little Secret_, then we're singing _The Song of Purple Summer_."

The present Glee Club members lined up in height order and walked single file onto the field, and then filed into three even lines. Quinn was in the middle line, as she wasn't tall and she wasn't short.

The blonde stood in the middle of the football field, in a purely conventional and comfortable outfit, and she felt odd. She felt slightly out of place, but she knew all of the steps, she knew all the words, and she was with people who were with her, no matter who she was. They were with her as she morphed- for better or for worse.

She saw the cheerleaders lined up on the bench, sipping cappuccinos from Coach Sylvester, their eyes on the Glee Club expectantly (maybe they would sing a bunch of broken notes). She wondered if anyone besides Santana recognized her. She hoped not. She found that she liked being a part of the crowd and being able to walk around alone. She like taking runs at her own pace and not having to wait up for a tired, over- worked team.

All eyes were on Glee Club. The girl was still confused about what she was supposed to be feeling, now that she was in an entirely new role. In a brief moment, she decided that if she wasn't still so hung over about no longer being on the Cheerios, she wouldn't have minded being in Glee, singing on the football field. She would have liked Glee Club's performance a lot. She would have considered it her new haven. Her new home.


End file.
